An introduction to an online course on the search for life elsewhere in the Universe tells us that there are 2 questions that are universal to our species; The first is ” where do we come from?” which is philosophical in nature and therefore perhaps best left to philosophers.
The second question is ” are we alone?”
Do you remember the first time you looked up at the night sky and asked yourself that question? And speculated on the answer. I doubt that there is human being alive who has not done the same. And the answers would be as broad and diverse as this strange and wonderful planet that we call home.
Chris Rutkowski, science educator and writer, sometimes known as the UFO Guy (although technically the proper term to use today would be UAP for Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon) has been writing and researching UFO since the 1970’s. Chris takes a very objective view of the subject and holds a master’s degree in Astronomy. His scientific background has enabled him to rule out common celestial phenomenon which are reported, such as the planet Venus and meteors, and focus his research on what is truly unexplainable. As keeper of the official reports for the Canadian government, Chris has viewed declassified files and Canada’s UFO projects and has dedicated his career to documenting and sharing that information and his thoughts with the public. He recently was in my city speaking at a conference to do just that. I have interviewed Chris on previous occasions, but it has been many years, and a lot has changed so I thought it would be a good time to catch up with the UFO Guy and find out how close we are to finding out the answer to question number two.
It is staggering to think about the fact that it has been some 30 years since discovery of the first exoplanet and since then , it seems that there has been a new discovery seemingly every day. A quick recap : there are over 5000 “confirmed ” exoplanets, each one of those orbiting a star with a solar system, many of those being planets in the habitable zone of their star. And this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. The number of planets in our galaxy alone may number in the millions, if not billions. And there are an infinite number of galaxies. I once read that is the highest form of egocentricity to think we are alone. And while Chris prefers to remain in the scientific realm, he does feel that we are likely not alone. He tells me that since he began the UFO study in the 70’s , one percent of the 25 thousand cases that have been reported have no scientific explanation. That’s 250 cases and that is not nothing!
Of course, there are many people who have their own theories about all the recent UFO activity,inclding many who feel that we are being watched by ET intelligence and in the spirit of “we don’t know what we don’t know “, I respect every one of them. I feel that you don’t have to share someone’s ideas to have a respectful discourse with them.
Chris tells me that, although there has been a slight uptick in UFO reports since the extensive increase in astronomical discoveries, he feels that they are more related to what is going with personal experiences and to some degree, popular culture. For example, due to an increase in sightings around water and some that actually seem to involve a craft landing or emerging from water, the term UAP now stands for ” unidentified anomalous phenomenon.”
Chris is most comfortable staying within the realm of hard science and evidence which he considers to be credible, something which I have always admired about him. Still, he doesn’t rule out the possibility of life elsewhere (there are those 250 cases which are unexplainable) but says that he just hasn’t seen any hard evidence to support it–yet!
He explains it to his astronomy colleagues this way, staying within the laws of physics as we understand them.
“Our sun has a lifetime and given the age of our sun, since we know that many other stars are much older, not just 100 thousand years but millions. An alien civilization could be up to a million years more advanced than ours. They might have found a way not to break the laws of physics but to bend them to travel between stars. Perhaps we have been under observation and given the 4.6 billion years of our existence, it is possible that they have visited us several times in the past. In fact, it is statistically more likely that they have visited us in the past rather than the present and will again at some future time.”
Well, that certainly does give one something to think about!!
It is clear the Universe is far vaster than we could have possibly imagined 30 years ago and if the increase in sightings is true, even one case (remember those 250 cases that are unexplainable ) , then we may be closer than ever to finding the answer to the second of the universal questions, even though we haven’t found any hard evidence of who or what may be out there--yet! But we must also recognize that discovering that we are not alone will pose some serious challenges to our faith and world view. People will find their own way of dealing with it and incorporate it into their belief system. Some will accept it and even be excited by it . Others will be in denial and will ignore it. Some will be terrified by it but there is no-one who will be unaffected by it. We are living in a time of rapid change and infinite possibilities and it seems that we don’t know what we don’t know.
And that is both exciting and scary at the same time!
I would love to hear what you think. Please join the conversation.
M.A.N.
This quote intrigued and puzzled me: “it is possible that they have visited us several times in the past. In fact, it is statistically more likely that they have visited us in the past rather than the present and will again at some future time.” Why not the present, I wonder? Which statistics is he referring to?
You have raised an interesting point and it does get rather mind bending when one is dealing with the concept of time, doesn’t it? He is referring to what he calls bending the laws of physics and the fact that our planet has been in existence for 4.6 billion years and deducing the statement that you are referring to about past and future visits . It’s hard for me to wrap my non mathematical mind around this and statistics were never my strength. The fact that we have been visited in the past is a common belief ( think Chariot of the Gods ) and there sure are people who believe we are currently being “watched” and as for future visits? Time will tell, I suppose. It is what makes this whole topic so relentlessly fascinating!